Compromise Anti-Meth Bill Hits Roadblocks at Kentucky Legislature

A bill dealing with pseudoephedrine usage could be in trouble for the second straight legislative session. Supporters of restricting PSE use thought they had a compromise. Previous bills have attempted to make the drug available by prescription only. The latest measure would allow the drug to remain over the counter but limits consumers to three point six grams per month and fifteen grams per year.

The bill gained an extra vote in committee today to send it to the Senate floor.

But after multiple caucus meetings, Senator Robert Stivers says the bill doesn’t have the votes to pass right now.

“Status is uncertain. Successful enough to get it out of committee this morning but due to a very successful lobbying campaign by numerous people and entities we are having a hard time garnering the votes and support on the Senate floor to pass the bill as it came out of committee," he says.

Stivers says some senators feel the current restrictions are too much.

“There is a belief among several people that the 3.6 gram monthly cap and the 15 gram annual cap is too restrictive,” he says.

That was also the stance of the Consumer Health Products Association, which says a 3.6 gram limit is still too restrictive for allergy sufferers who use pseudoephedrine based medicines to help relieve their symptoms

An amendment to the bill would double those original dosage amounts to more than seven grams per month and twenty-four grams a year. But it’s uncertain whether that will help the bill’s chances.

Stivers says if he can’t get the votes soon, he will once again pull the bill instead of letting it rollover until the end of the session.